Ex-gun shop employee faces prison after blowing second chance

Dentist injured in shooting accident again convicted of gun crimes

Updated 4:55 pm, Friday, March 15, 2013

UPDATE: Dr. Leeland Cho was sentenced Friday, March 15 to nearly three years in federal prison. State domestic violence charges remain outstanding.

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What’s a pistol worth?

The Les Baer handgun Dr. Leeland Cho loved enough to hide inside a desktop computer usually sells for about $2,000. It could cost the gunsmith, thief and purported spouse abuser three years of his life.

Cho, 47, is slated to be sentenced to prison Friday for federal gun crimes stemming from his refusal to get rid of his weapons after dodging a prison sentence in a plea deal three years ago.

In 2010, a series of gun thefts from his former employer – Wade’s Eastside Guns – netted Cho little more than a stern warning that he needed to get rid of his gun collection. Federal prosecutors now say Cho was still hoarding weapons when he went to court to present himself as a changed man.

Cho was fired and prosecuted in 2009 after stealing nearly two dozen guns from Wade's, a popular Bellevue gun shop. Cho, who faced as much as 18 months in prison, caught the kind of break most defendants only dream of – six months under house arrest and three years on probation.

Cho, a dentist who changed careers after a disabling accident on a gun range, came under scrutiny again in April after police responded to a report that he assaulted his wife at their Sammamish home. Investigators ultimately recovered five guns Cho previously told the court he had sold prior to his earlier felony conviction. Prosecutors noted that Cho had a large amount of ammunition and had taken pains to hide his weapons.

Asking that Cho be sentenced to more than three years in prison, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Miyake said authorities had been under the misimpression the last time around that Cho’s crimes didn’t reflect his true character.

“We were wrong,” Miyake told the court. “Cho’s fascination with guns went much deeper than anyone realized.”

Arguing for a 15-month prison sentence, Cho claims his arrest has finally prompted him to change his ways. Comparing himself to a “blind man,” Cho said his recent incarceration has helped him find religion and kick a purported painkiller addiction.

Cho was running a successful oral surgery practice until 1997, when he was hit with a stray bullet during a shooting accident. The resulting neck injury left Cho unable to practice medicine, and he launched a second career as a gunsmith and federally licensed gun dealer.

Cho went to work for Wade’s in early 2008 but was fired months later after he began stealing guns from the shop.

Shortly after receiving a theft report from Wade’s, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators learned Cho had been arrested by Seattle police in April 2008 after attempting to steal cigars from a supermarket. Cho was armed with two pistols at the time.

Cho lost his job at Wade's days after his arrest, having worked there a little more than two months. Police impounded Cho's weapons following the shoplifting call and later determined one of the pistols was stolen from the store while Cho worked there.

Speaking with investigators, a Wade's employee said the store had determined that 22 guns had gone missing during Cho's tenure. The employee, who'd worked there for 12 years, told investigators he had never known Wade's Eastside Guns to have so many guns lost or stolen in such a short time.

"They have had guns not accounted for in the past, but … it was always one or two here and there, not this many at once," an ATFE agent said in court documents.

Investigators recovered 16 stolen firearms from Cho’s house, as well as 39 other guns lawfully owned by Cho. He admitted to the thefts shortly thereafter, claiming he stole in revenge for an earlier purchase during which he felt he was cheated.

Among Cho’s lawfully purchased guns were the Les Baer .45 and a .22 cal. pistol.

Cho pleaded guilty to one count of possession of stolen firearms five months after his April 2009 arrest. The guilty plea made Cho a convicted felon and, as such, unable to legally possess a gun.

“Life for Leeland Cho has already changed significantly,” Cho’s defense attorney told the court in 2009. “His life in the medical field is over. His professional aspirations as an individual with an extensive educational background will be forever affected.

“His life with firearms, which was an important and significant personal interest, is over.”

Or not quite over, as it turned out.

Ordered to have a third party sell off his gun collection, Cho concocted a complex scheme to retain a few of his favorite weapons even while publicly claiming contrition.

Cho arranged to have the Les Baer pistol and three other guns shipped to a Georgia gun dealer. There, a relative of Cho’s posed as a buyer and purchased the guns on Cho’s behalf.

According to court papers, Cho already had his guns back by the time his attorney and prosecutors were discussing their hopes for his crime-free future.

Having been sentenced in January 2010, Cho again drew police attention in April 2012 when he was accused of assaulting his wife. Speaking with police, the woman said Cho had held a pistol to her head the year before.

Cho was arrested. Prosecutors contend Cho has threatened to kill his wife; state charges related to the incident remain outstanding.

In the days following his arrest, guns were discovered hidden in a fake book and in a closet, and were disassembled and scattered throughout the couple’s home. Cho’s relatives also came to the house hoping to pick up a bag full of ammunition and a desktop computer.

The Les Baer pistol – a semi-automatic styled like a Colt 1911 handgun – was found tucked inside that computer. It was loaded and in working order.

Investigators ultimately recovered three lower receivers for AR-15-style assault rifles. The receiver is the part of a rifle that contains moving parts and operates as a gun.

Jailed since his arrest, Cho pleaded guilty to unlawful gun possession in December. In a letter to the court, he again presented himself as a man changed by his failures.

Cho claims to have had a religious awakening while in federal detention.

Describing his life since his accidental shooting as a “bad dream without an end,” Cho claims he was addicted to prescription pain medication for the past decade. Now sober, he pledged to be honest and law-abiding in the years left to him.

And, of course, he asked for leniency.

“I humble myself under your wise decision to judge me justly but with mercy at the same time,” Cho said in a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik, who is slated to sentence Cho. “Please see me as our merciful God sees us – fallible but redeemable. And please look beyond what I have done, but consider how far I have come as a new creation in Christ Jesus.”

Writing the court, Miyake noted Cho had already been ordered to surrender the five weapons seized from his home. The federal prosecutor added that Cho's claims of contrition were further undercut because he is also alleged to have attacked his wife.

“Cho’s previous claims of remorse and desire to make positive changes in his life were, to put it bluntly, lies,” Miyake told the court.

“He engaged in extremely deceptive conduct,” he continued. “This conduct has given a true insight into the inner workings of Cho’s mind. He has proven himself a manipulator and liar.”

Cho is scheduled to appear before Lasnik on Friday morning at the federal courthouse in Seattle.